No Grudge Any More
by GlitchyMissingno
Summary: Mima had a bone to pick with humanity. They had her killed just because she was adept with magic, so imagine her surprise when she finds a young girl trying to become the next big witch. Thinking she could use her, Mima raises the girl as her own, but she could never have predicted the effect this would have on her. One-shot.


A crowd had begun to gather in the human village's plaza. Many of them hurled stones at their subject of interest: a green-haired witch about to be burned, her blue robes tarnished by the abuse she was being dealt in her final moments. No matter how much she struggled, she was unable to break free of her bonds. Eventually, an executioner ignited the wood below her, thus beginning the execution proper.

"You'll all pay for this," the witch exclaimed as flames licked her body. "This isn't the last you'll hear of the great witch Mima!"

It wasn't long before the flames fully engulfed her, bringing an end to her struggling and screaming. The crowd then dispersed and returned to their daily lives as if nothing had happened, though a few stayed behind to clean up the mess.

While they may have dealt with the witch, the villagers were unaware that her spirit lived on, harboring a deep hatred of humanity.

-[x]-

Many years pass. Eventually, the villagers largely forgot about the witch that used to be such a thorn in their sides, though many know to stay well away from the Forest of Magic where a powerful vengeful spirit is thought to roam. One young girl thought nothing of this as she ran away from home in the middle of the night, heading straight for the forest with her makeshift wand in hand.

It doesn't take long for her to get completely lost. She hugged her wand to her chest and nervously glanced around, slowly beginning to regret leaving the safety of the village. Suddenly, she felt a chill run down her spine and heard a horrific voice echo between the trees.

"Who dares intrude upon my abode!?"

The girl stiffened, her knuckles turning white as she gripped her wand even tighter. "I'm M-Marisa Kirisame, and I'm a w-witch who's n-not afraid of you!"

The spirit let out a bone-chilling cackle. "Not afraid of me?" It slithered through the shadows of the forest and jumped out right in front of the child witch. "You're not afraid of the great and powerful Mima!?"

"Ahhhhhhh!" Marisa screamed and, in a panic, thrust her wand forward, shooting a couple of stars at Mima. They phase through the ghost, having no effect on her.

Mima grabbed the end of Marisa's wand and pulled it away from her. "One pathetic spell doesn't make you a witch. Why are you here?"

"I r-ran away from home." The girl seemed to be on the verge of tears. "M-my dad didn't like that I was trying t-to learn magic…"

It was at this point that an interesting idea ran through the spirit's mind. She could train this girl to be a witch as powerful as she was and then use her to finally enact her vengeance. A smile spread across Mima's face as she looked down at the child. "Well, how about I take you in, then? I'll teach you how to be a witch just as powerful as I was in my prime."

At this, Marisa's face lit up. She wiped her face with her arm to clear away some tears. "You'd really do that?"

"Just so long as you don't annoy me."

-[x]-

Raising children is quite difficult work, Mima soon learned. You can't just do it out in the wilderness - humans seem to be vulnerable to the elements, after all - so the duo had to search for somewhere to stay, eventually finding a run-down hut in the middle of the woods. Many years passed in that hut, and Marisa was growing quickly. She was approaching her preteen years and quickly mastered just about every spell that Mima taught her. It was almost like looking in a mirror, and the child had grown on her because of that. She figured that this must be what it's like to be a proper mother.

Suddenly, the girl in question ran up and hugged Mima the best she could. "Lady Mima! You told me you had a surprise for today, right?"

Mima looked back at her with a smile. "That's right, Marisa. We're going to attack the Hakurei Shrine today." She swept her arm out in the general direction of the human village. "It'll be our first step in showing the village the true might of our magic."

"Alright! I can't wait to show off how much I've learned! It's gonna be so much fun!"

"Yes, fun." Mima's smile turned slightly sinister as she anticipated finally being able to achieve her purpose in this world. She then moved to make her way towards the shrine, gesturing for her student to follow. "Come along now. We've got some ass to kick."

"Right away, Lady Mima!"

-[x]-

They did not, in fact, kick any ass. By the end of the day, the young shrine maiden, Reimu Hakurei, had thoroughly trounced the both of them. To make matters worse, Marisa and Reimu had become friends, prompting the young witch to ask Mima to take her back to the shrine almost every day. Whenever Mima tried to say no, Marisa would just threaten to leave on her own, something that the mother-like evil spirit wasn't gonna let happen. Thus, she was dragged to the shrine quite often. At the very least, Genji made for good company while the kids were off playing. Today was one such day.

"Lady Mima!" Marisa called out. "Come play danmaku with us!"

"No thank you. I'm just fine watching from down here."

Suddenly, Reimu piped up, a hint of laughter in her voice. "Are you afraid you'll lose to me again?"

"Oh, you're in for it now, kid." Mima grabbed her staff and flew up to the duo, joining the fray.

As much as the evil spirit hated to admit it, she was having fun during these visits. She could feel her grudge gradually melting away, all thanks to these two kids.

-[x]-

Almost two years pass. Mima, Marisa, and Reimu had just gotten back from storming Makai like a happy family and were resting at the Hakurei Shrine. While the kids played out front, Mima sat inside, leaning against the shrine walls and feeling utterly exhausted. The evil spirit did her best to try and regain her energy, but nothing was working. She looked down at her arms as her form flickered in and out of existence, then sighed to herself. She knew exactly what the problem was: her grudge was gone, leaving her with nothing to keep her going. It's a miracle she had enough power built up to last this long without it.

Noticing an issue, Reimu's robot maid from the outside, Ruukoto, came over to Mima and sat beside her. "What seems to be the matter, Lady Mima?"

Mima weakly glanced over at her. "I'm about to move on, Ruukoto. I don't have the energy to stay in this world anymore, and I wasn't yet prepared for it to happen." Her form began to gradually turn transparent. "I can't leave Marisa alone in this world, not yet."

Ruukoto sighed and attempted to rest a hand on Mima's shoulder, only for it to phase through somewhat. "I may not know exactly what it's like to be in your shoes, but I've got something close. My power cells have been running low lately, and it seems there's no way to refuel them in this world, so I'll be meeting my end here soon too. Like you, I'm not really prepared either, but that's no fault of our own. Nobody can truly prepare themselves for this. Death comes when it wants, after all. All we can do is make sure we don't make a burden for our loved ones when that time finally comes." Ruukoto gestured outside towards Marisa and Reimu. "These two are starting their teen years now. While most kids still rely on their parents at that age, they're special. Thanks to the experiences they've had, they're much more mature than anyone else their age, and I foresee no issues with them being independent. You've probably already seen this in Lady Marisa."

The spirit gave a weak nod. "I have. She's taken her learning entirely into her own hands now, and she's put most of the housework - which, admittedly, isn't much - upon herself at this point." Mima sighed. "I just kinda exist now."

"And that's exactly my point here. Try not to feel too bad about leaving her alone. She can take care of herself now, and that's not even mentioning all the friends she's made over the years. You did an outstanding job as her mother, so pat yourself on the back and just relax." The maid stood up. "Would you like me to go get Lady Marisa so that you can say good-bye?"

Mima gave a short nod, trying to conserve what little energy she had left.

"As you wish." With that, Ruukoto walked outside and came back in with Marisa about a minute later.

The young witch could immediately tell that something was wrong. "Lady Mima, are you okay!?"

The fading spirit looked up at her. "Not really, no. My time in this world is just about up, unfortunately. I only have a few minutes at most." Seeing that the girl was about to cry, Mima reached a hand up to try and rest it on her cheek, only to fall just short of being able to reach. "Don't worry about me, sweet child. The time I've spent raising you has been the happiest I've ever been, and I'm glad that the gods above blessed us with our fates." At this point, Mima couldn't help but tear up as well.

"But what'll I do without you…?"

"Exactly what you've been doing so far. I've taught you everything I know, and you've been pretty much self-sufficient for a while now. You don't need me around anymore." Mima's form was almost entirely transparent by this point. "Good-bye, my sweet Marisa, and thank you…"

"No no no no no! Don't go!" Marisa dove forward in an attempt to trap the ghost in a hug, but she was too late. Mima had faded away completely. All the young witch could do at this point was sit there and mourn the loss of her adoptive mother.


End file.
